New deadline for foreign workers

national January 16, 2013 00:00

By The Nation

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The Cabinet yesterday gave the green light to a Labour Ministry proposal that the process of verifying the nationality of foreign migrant workers be extended until April 15, according to Labour Minister Phadermchai Sasomsap.

He said that with the relaxation of the deadline, the 266,677 workers from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia who failed to complete the verification before the December 15 deadline could now live and work in Thailand until the new deadline.

During this extended period, the workers and their employers are required to submit the necessary documents to complete the verification process, said the labour minister.

The relaxation was retroactive from December 15.

To ensure the move is successful, the Interior Ministry will issue a directive within 30 days to allow those workers whose nationalities have not been verified to stay in Thailand until the new deadline, according to the labour minister.

“The workers will not be arrested during this period, from now until April 15. The employers who fail to have their employees undergo the verification process will face legal action, and their migrant workers will be sent back to their home countries,” he said.

The Department of Employment will issue necessary documents to those migrant workers to allow their temporary stay during this extended period, director-general Prawit Kiengphol said. He added that five one-stop service centres would be set up at the department’s offices in Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Pathum Thani, Chiang Mai and Songkhla.